Handy+Tools

There are a WIDE number of ultra handy tools available on the internet to help you do what you need. Below are a few that you might use in this course.
 * Bonus page: No assignments associated with this topic at the moment.**

Mac -- It's built right into the operating system. Look for the Save As pdf option. Or, more generally speaking, you will find it under -- Print, PDF, be sure to change your file extension to pdf.
 * PDF Generators**

Windows -- It's not built into the operating system but it may be installed on your machine. Campus labs -- it's been added, look for the icon Other options: pdftoword.com -- online converter. I tried this with a large file and it was too big to convert. Perhaps it works with smaller files. primopdf.com -- This is the one my husband has installed on his Windows machine. CutePDF Writer -- is a free utility that installs onto your computer like a printer. You create your original file and then “print” it. Instead of selecting your printer, you select “CutePDF.” Free My PDF -- is a very useful site for those of us that deal with PDF files a lot. Many PDF files that are unlocked (you can open and read them) sometimes have restrictions on printing or copying text from the file. Free My PDF can remove those restrictions. @http://www.crackmypdf.com/ -- I saw this when I was searching for Free My PDF.

How to edit PDF forms without Adobe Acrobat -- PDFescape- Free, online PDF Editor & PDF Form Filler

Free online file converter -- Convert media files online from one format into another. @http://www.online-convert.com/
 * File Converters**

While most new computers can convert some file types (especially on a Mac), there are still many that need help. This is especially the case when going cross platform from a Mac to PC.
 * Top 10 Sites for File Conversion by David Kapuler**
 * 1) Comet Docs - Easily one of the best visual sites for converting files and very user-friendly.Has over 50 conversion options with the ability to do file analysis and comparison.
 * 2) Zamzar - One of the most popular and easy to use conversion sites around.
 * 3) DocsPal - A nice site for converting tons of different files; results are downloaded via unique URL.
 * 4) Vixy - A great way to convert and download videos onto a computer or mobile device.
 * 5) YouConvertIt - Easy to use site for converting multiple files.
 * 6) Cellsea - Converts video files of up to 25 MB.
 * 7) OCR Terminal - Converts scanned images into usable data such as: TXT, RTF, or Doc.
 * 8) Carryout Text - A great way to convert text to speech, good for converting blogs, emails or documents.
 * 9) HTML to PDF - Fast and easy to use; convert any web page into a PDF.
 * 10) Text 2 Mindmap - Excellent site for converting text into a Mindmap/outline.

Article telling how screenshots can be a powerful support for students -- The Simple Power of a Screenshot
 * Screenshots**


 * Mac** -- It's built right into the operating system.
 * 1) Hold down the following 4 keys -- Command (cloverleaf looking), Control, Shift, 4
 * 2) Cursor changes into a + sign
 * 3) Highlight what you want to copy (hold down left mouse button, let go of button when you have area highlighted)
 * 4) Highlighted area will be copied to your clipboard but you won't see or hear anything happening
 * 5) Jump to document where you want graphic pasted
 * 6) Paste (Command V or right mouse click or Edit Paste)
 * 7) Voila, image should be there.

For other mac screen capture options check out this article.


 * Window**s --
 * Type in "Snippping" into the search box on your Windows machine, Snipping Tool should show as an option (it's a free program that comes with Windows). Open that program, highlight area you want to copy, a window with your selected region opens, Control V (or paste) to paste the clip into your document.
 * **On our Macs in the lab,** press F14, highlight area you want to copy, select how you want to save it.
 * Print Screen -- to copy entire desktop, then paste into your document
 * Alt Print Screen -- copies the window of the program which is active/selected, then paste into your document
 * GetGreenShot.org -- allows you to copy just a portion of the screen like we do on the mac

Windows does not have quite as many features for "screen capture" as the Macintosh does. There are a few that are built into Windows. These are described as follows and I will discuss each in more depth a little further on down: - Copy the entire screen to the "Clipboard" - Copy the "active window" to the Clipboard. An active window, for example, is when you have a program not at fullscreen (i.e. you can see an active program and other things behind it.)
 * More on Windows and screen clips:**

For both of these, you need to locate the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. It is usually located in the upper righthand part of the keyboard and it may be abreviated as "Prt Scr" or "Prnt Scrn" or something like that. Sometimes on a laptop, the Print Screen button might be labeled in Blue print which means you may need to hold down the Function (or FN) key to use the Print Screen button.

1) To Copy the Entire Screen to the Clipboard. - Press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the entire screen onto the clipboard. We will discuss later what to do with it once it is on the clipboard.

2) To Copy the Active Window to the Clipboard. - Hold down the Alt key and then press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the active window only onto the clipboard.

What to do when you have the screenshot on the clipboard?

1) You can paste the image directly into another program such as MS-Word or something. However, you cannot paste it onto your Wiki. You need to save it to a file to get it into the Wiki.

2) To get the screenshot to a file (so you can, for example, put it in your wiki): - Open the Programs button, go to Accessories, locate and click the Paint program. - once the Paint program is open, then press Control-V. This pastes the contents of the clipboard into the Paint program. - You can now edit the image however you like and save it as a file.

Important: If you remember our first lesson of the semester, we used the Internet based image editor called PIXLR.COM. This can also be used to paste the contents of the clipboard and edit the image.

The previous part of this email discussed the features that are built into Windows. The screen capture is a bit problematic because it justs gets the images to the clipboard and then you have to do something else with it. There is a new feature built into Windows call the Snipping Tool (please don't chuckle... you are out of middle school). With the snipping tool, you can capture just a selected portion of the screen and it can save it to a file.

This link discusses the copying to the clipboard and using the Snipping Tool.

Laptop Refresh: Six Ways to Revitalize an Older Notebook -- Is your machine running too slowly? Did someone give you their old, slow machine? You might be able to revive it a bit.
 * Bonus Materials**

The Ultimate Web2.0 Smackdown at Tech Forum, Boston

Homework:Jazz it up with Technology by Ozge Karaoglu

Top 10 Self Help Sites for Technology by David Kapuler

Finding lost webpages -- Way Back Machine

Information Literacy -- Videos by Polk Library
Information Cycle: @http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/information-cycle (@http://youtu.be/wNdHbLwXEcE)

Understanding your Assignment: @http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/understanding-your-assignment (@http://youtu.be/45UO3mx8b9k)

Searching for Information: @http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/searching-for-information Part I: @http://youtu.be/BtdJxlPJy38 Part II: @http://youtu.be/Mb0swsTAuRY Part III: @http://youtu.be/dW4e9aqSpP8

Locating Information: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/locating-information Part I: @http://youtu.be/SKTUIUMoCYE Part II: @http://youtu.be/FgnwZjZlQhI

Evaluating Information: @http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/evaluating-information (@http://youtu.be/6YVs7YpN9co)

Citing Sources/Using Information: @http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/citing-sources-and-using-information Part I: @http://youtu.be/HeB6pyjRP3E Part II: @http://youtu.be/Brp5GKInpSw